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Jul 14, 2015

Rich People Behaving Badly (Summer Reading Part 3)

It's been ages since I posted, and I have no excuses. Not pregnant, not moving, no new job. Just an extreme aversion to sitting down in front of the computer. I've just been feeling downright allergic to it.

I have been reading, however. Let's reenter blogging with some reviews of a lot of light reading.

"With an uncanny eye for the raw edges of what it means to be a girl and a heartfelt sense of the intensity of early friendship, Local Girls is a look at both the profound role celebrity plays in our culture, and how the people we know as girls end up changing the course of our lives."

Eh. I couldn't get into it. A little too angsty to be fun, but not serious enough to justify the angst.

On the other hand, I adored "I Take You" by Eliza Kennedy. Brace yourself for a lot of sex and profanity, but it was witty, sharp and involved some legal drama. A perfect fast, fun and surprising read.

"Lily’s fiancé Will is a brilliant, handsome archaeologist. Lily is sassy, impulsive, fond of a good drink (or five) and has no business getting married. Lily likes Will, but does she love him? Will loves Lily, but does he know her? As the wedding approaches, Lily’s nights—and mornings, and afternoons—of booze, laughter and questionable decisions become a growing reminder that the happiest day of her life might turn out to be her worst mistake yet."

There was also a lot of random S-E-X in "The One that Got Away" which was a bit unnecessary, but didn't stop me from liking the book.

"Sarina Mahler thinks she has her life all nailed down: a growing architecture practice in Austin, Texas, and an any-day-now proposal from her loving boyfriend, Noah. She’s well on her way to having the family she’s hoped for since her mother’s death ten years ago. But with Noah on a temporary assignment abroad and retired Olympic swimmer—and former flame—Eamon Roy back in town asking her to renovate his new fixer-upper, Sarina’s life takes an unexpected turn. Eamon proves to be Sarina’s dream client, someone who instinctively trusts every one of her choices—and Sarina is reminded of all the reasons she was first drawn to him back in the day. Suddenly her carefully planned future with Noah seems a little less than perfect. And when tragedy strikes, Sarina is left reeling. With her world completely upended, she is forced to question what she truly wants in life—and in love."

A new entry into the rich mother genre is "The Mothers of Country Day", which was a little ridiculous at times, but enjoyable.

"When Josie Messina's wunderkind 12-year-old son earns a full scholarship to one of New Jersey's toniest private schools, this hardworking, cash-strapped single mom is intimidated. Will she ever fit in with the wealthy and fashionable mothers of Little Fawn Country Day? But when Josie runs into Country Day's most famous parent, rock legend Billy Stand - known to her as the boy she used to babysit - their embrace in the school parking lot, viewed by three of the school's most influential social butterflies, rockets her to "A list" status. What happens next will bring truth to the warning, "Be careful what you wish for."

This timely, irreverent send-up of contemporary academia -- and the wicked ways of the one percent -- will delight any parent who has ever been dragged to a PTA fundraiser, has sweated out their children's grades and college prospects, or who has wondered what, exactly, their kids are learning at school all day."

Also completely ridiculous, but in the best intentionally over the top way? "China Rich Girlfriend", Kevin Kwan's follow up to "Crazy Rich Asians". It's awesome. Warning- be prepared to order Asian food for dinner the night you start this. The food descriptions had me drooling.

Although predictable, I liked "The Status of All Things". The protagonist ends up with the power to change her past via Facebook statuses, which sounds more hokey than it actually is in the book. The main character is fairly complex. You know where the book is going to end up, but it keeps you flipping pages to find out how it's going to happen.

Also predictable? "Beach Town" by Mary Kay Andrews. Predictable, and a bit of a snoozefest. I feel like her earlier books were so engaging because they really made the setting a character in the book. This one is all about the setting, yet it's utterly unmemorable.

"Oh! You Pretty Things" is about an assistant in LA. Here's the link to the New York Times review- it does a much better job than I describing the novel. Much like "Local Girls", it was a touch too cynical for my beach reading taste, but not serious enough to move into my Capital-L-Literature category.

Most definitely in my beach read category is Nancy Thayer. I had grouped her in with that group of Elin Hilderbrand, Kristin Hannah, Mary Alice Monroe, Karen White, et. al, which I can never get through the first few pages without tossing the book aside. Anyway, unlike her peers, I like Nancy Thayer's books. I just finished these two- not a dash of cynicism, but well-drawn characters, and a beautiful setting, which make for easy, restful books that aren't too mind-numbingly dumb (ahem, Nicholas Sparks).

I thought this Jane Green book was going to be much the same, then it got all spicy/thriller/drama-rama on me, which I loved! Do I sense a theme? Apparently, I adore books about rich people behaving badly. Escapism at its best, ladies.

After all that fluff, I am finally reading something of substance. Probably wise to do so before my mind turns to cotton candy. Erik Larson's history of the American ambassador to Berlin beginning in 1933 is absolutely fascinating so far. It feels good to be reading a book that takes longer than a couple of hours to read. . .

Speaking of cotton candy brain, editing this ramble of a post is not going to happen. Please excuse my typos! I'm off to weed my front beds- a Sisyphean task that I can't put off another minute.

I always love when you share the books you've been reading because it's not just a rundown of the Amazon best sellers list. You give some actual ideas for different books to read. And you also make me feel like a bum for not reading more! Ha! Enjoy the summer!